Amongst the Falling Snow
by kodoku na oujo
Summary: I heard his voice. And I felt truly happy. I was able to die, fulfilling my dream. Everything around me grew cold and dark and I knew that this was it. My life had ended. ZabuHaku. Character death.


**Oh! How absolutely fitting! Today was Haku's birthday and it was **_**snowing**_**. I just looked out my bedroom window when I woke up and… Low and behold! Snow! I was so happy for some reason XD. Maybe it is a sign of good luck! Or maybe it's just Haku's way of celebrating his birthday. :shrug: I also saw two guys walking together in the snow. :swoon: It was **_**soo**_** romantic XD ha!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. But it used to be mine. Until Kishimoto-sensei won it from me in a poker game. That's where he got the inspiration for Tsunade. A big-breasted, blonde woman who is horrible at gambling XD ha, ha!**

**Warning: Boy Love. Hey. Guess what? It's finally **_**CANON**_** Boy Love :drool:. So if you read the series, you can't complain about this particular pairing. Because their love is **_**REAL**_**!! … In the Naruto manga. Oh but, uh… There are little hints of other Boy Love that ((as to my current knowledge)) isn't **_**exactly**_** canon… YET! XD ha**

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This is the end.

That child. I've never seen such fury and rage emerge from anyone before. That appalling chakra that spewed forth from his body and manifested itself in such a terrifying image.

A physical form to his rage.

We were gauged in combat against one another. Battling upon an unfinished bridge. There were others with him, but the child had forgotten them all when his anger and hatred took over.

All except the one that had fallen. That raven-haired child who fought beside him in an attempt to defeat me. That was that the child could think of as he attacked me in a fit of rage. He was consumed by the pain of having his fellow comrade die in his arms all in an effort to save him.

Such selflessness.

How I wish I could have been in that child's position. To die in place of your most precious person.

But now I see that I am fated to die at the hands of this young child—Uzumaki Naruto. His wounds have all healed miraculously and this new strength that he had pulled from deep within himself is too much for me. That immense chakra is too much for me to withstand for very long. His movements are so quick. Quick than my own.

And then one hit from his fist sent me hurdling through the air, through my own ice mirror. I felt my body land harshly against the surface of the unfinished bridge, the material of my clothing tearing from the friction and my mask scraping across the concrete surface beneath me. Eventually my body stopped and I ignored the pain that coursed through my very being.

For I knew it would all be over soon.

I rose to my feet and looked onward at my soon-to-be killer. His red eyes ablaze with hatred and fury. Red? I could have sworn that they were blue moments ago. It would seem that more than his attitude has changed when he was overcome with that intense and horrible chakra. Either way it did not matter. Red or blue. What different did it make.

As he came forward, with a terrifying speed, my gaze rose upward toward the dismal sky above me. I felt the mask upon my face crumble and fall in piece along my feet, but I ignored it and let my thoughts travel back to the only memories that brought me comfort.

Memories of him. Of my master.

Momochi Zabuza.

My precious, precious person.

But I am pulled from my thoughts when my inevitable death never came. I shift my gaze only slightly to see that a fist had stopped right before my face, taunting me so with its sweet promise of death. He said something to me, but I did not bother to strain my ears to hear him and instead I ask the one thing that occupies my mind at this moment.

"Why did you stop?"

He says nothing.

"I murdered your comrade… Your beloved friend… And you still _spare me_?!"

I saw him turned to look upon his fallen comrade's corpse before his struck me, with only a fraction of the power the attack held previously. I fell backwards against the bridge and felt my mouth fill with blood, the dark liquid dripping down from my lips and pooling into a puddle beneath my head.

But I was still alive.

How could such a young child be so cruel?

I rose slowly to my feet and continued to speak to him, to reveal to him the true cruelty that he was performing by sparing my life. That he had taken away my dream from me; that he had left me with nothing; that he had made my existence, with his own two hands, empty and meaningless.

By defeating me he had taken away my sole reason for living, for Zabuza-danna has no use for a weak shinobi.

And that's what I was. Weak. Defeat by a mere child. How could I possibly be of any use to Zabuza-danna now? His tool was useless and he would no longer want me.

But I wished that it was not true.

Even as I tried to explain all of that to Naruto, I knew that he would never be able to understand how I felt. And my suspicions were proven correct when he was unable to see how Zabuza-danna could be precious to me.

Such a child.

He knew nothing. Nothing about Zabuza-danna. And nothing about me.

And so I told him. Using what would hopefully be the last minutes of my life. I told him about my past; about my parents; about my kekkei genkai; about accepting the fact that I was not wanted and completely alone in this world.

A saw a spark of familiarity flash across his face, and I knew I was finally getting to him. Finally making him understand my pain and anguish.

A memory of me and Zabuza-danna flashed through my mind, bringing tears to my eyes. I did not bother to wipe away the warm liquid that leaked from my brown orbs as the memory came to an end, though it still lingered in the confines of my brain. My gaze wandered down to bridge's surface and the true horror of my fallen dream crashed down upon me, weighing down my heart and soul as if it were a physical burden resting on my shoulders.

"_Forgive me… Zabuza-danna…"_ I thought in my mind with a sullen expression etched onto my face. _"… Your tool has failed you."_

And that is when I asked Naruto to take my life.

It must have been the hardest thing that a child such as him had ever been asked to do. Even as a shinobi. He did not move nor speak for a long time, and my patience were wearing thin. And when I pressed him, he said the cruelest thing I have ever heard.

"Your boss must like you for more than just that… Right?"

I could not stand to look him in the eyes. Those deep, blue eyes that almost seemed more terrifying to me than the vicious red eyes that he had been sporting previously during his fit of rage. Such sickeningly innocent and naïve eyes that always meant for the best, but seldom realized how unkind his words and actions could be.

The words hung around my head for quite some time as I stood there, pondering the possibility that there could even be a ray of truth behind them. For in all the time that I had been with Zabuza-danna, right at his side, I had never had the courage to even _wonder_ if I was more than just… Just his tool.

I pleaded to Naruto yet again. Trying to make him see that there was no other way for me to continue on with my life now that I was useless and unwanted once again.

And to my relief, he accepted my last wish and prepared to take my life.

"You…" I started, hoping to ease his pain even the slightest. After all, he was about to rid me of all my pain. It was the least I could do for him. "I hope you find you dream."

He turned back to the body of his fallen friend. "He… Sasuke had a dream too…"

He must have been speaking of the raven-haired child that lay still and cold. The one whom I had murdered. I wondered momentarily if that was Naruto's pitiful attempt to force remorse and sorrow out of me for my actions. But he once again pulled me from my thoughts as he continued to speak.

"If we'd meet some other way, someplace else, you and me would probably have been friends." The hand that held his kunai shook with his conflicting feelings.

I thought about the idea… and silently agreed.

A look of determination crossed his young features and he charged toward me, as if he had forgotten all his previous inhibitions about his current task. His body was hunched low to the ground as he swiftly moved closer and closer to his target… me.

"Thank you." I whispered, hoping that he would hear me. It really did not matter either way, but it would have at least eased my nerves if he knew that what he was doing was truly what I wanted.

I prepared myself for the oncoming strike that would end my life, my body motionless as Naruto came ever so closer to me. A roar ripped passed his lips, but I did not react to the loud battle cry. My mind and body had already shut down, awaiting the inevitable.

It was not until his weapon was inching from piercing my body that I was pulled from my trance-like state and forced harshly back into the reality that was facing me. I quickly pushed Naruto's arm away and forced it down toward the bridge beneath us, my eyes charged with a renewed sense of determination that I had thought had left me entirely.

Zabuza-danna was in trouble. And he needed my help.

"I'm sorry, Naruto!" I said in my haste, ignoring his obvious confusion to my contradicting actions. I had no time to calm his mind. With Naruto's wrist still firmly in my grip, I used my free hand to quickly make a few hand signs. "I can't die yet!!" The stern whisper escaped from my lips before I disappeared from his sight, leaving nothing in my wake but a cloud of smoke.

Then, only seconds after Naruto vanished from my sight, the only that registered in my mind was pain. Sheer, agonizing pain. The one call Hatake Kakashi was only a few centimeters from myself, his face full of shock and horror.

It did not take me long to catch on to the situation.

I coughed up the blood that filled my throat, hoping to take in a few remaining breaths with the last of my strength. My eyes gazed deeply into the older man's terror-filled orbs without any sign of fear. My rage was too strong to even fear the infamous Sharingan eye that filled the void where his left eyes should have been.

My shaking arm rose slowly, each movement more painful than the last, until it lay loosely on the arm that had pierced its way through my chest. Once I felt I had a firm grip, I brought up my other arm, just as slowly as the first, and grasped tightly at the material that hung around the silver-haired man's arm. And then, with my final breath, I uttered my last words. "Zabuza…d-danna."

I heard his voice. Zabuza-danna's voice. But I could not understand his words. My mind had already started to fade into the dark void. But just hearing that familiar and lovely voice that I had memorized warmed my heart and brought a peaceful smile to my face.

And I felt truly happy. I was able to die, fulfilling my dream.

I was able to be of some use to my most precious person even after I had been defeated.

Everything around me grew cold and dark and I knew that this was it. My life had ended.

The last thing I saw was the terrified face of Hatake Kakashi, but it did not matter in the least. For my last thoughts belonged only to my master. To my Zabuza-danna. Of happier times that we had shared. Or at least they were happier to me. Then again, any moment I shared with my Zabuza-danna was a happy memory.

My body felt numb and I feel as if my heavy eyelids have been shut, though I do not personally remember closing them myself. But I really don't care. My life is ending. I never knew it would drag on so long. Though I can no longer hear, see, or feel, I am still aware somehow.

I idly wonder how much time it will take before my consciousness completely fades away into nothingness.

In all my time pondering what death would be like I never fathomed that I would be forced to linger in this dark purgatory all alone with the only noise being my random thoughts. Though, they may not be sounds at all, just my mind playing one last trick on me and my newly deaf ears.

I felt so cold.

It was like my body is lying still amongst the newly fallen snow, the white flakes falling slowly to the ground and gathering around my motionless body. But I feel no snow against my flesh and I am unsure if I am lying down or still standing as I was when everything faded into black.

Suddenly, there was a noise. Not just my thoughts, which I thought were sounds floating around in my head, but an actual sound. Somehow it is familiar to me, but all I wanted now is to rest and so I did not strain my mind to remember.

And then, there was warmth. I believe against my face, but my senses were so dazed that I could not be sure.

The same familiar sound flooded my mind yet again, but I could still not bring myself to summon the strength to actually comprehend the words being said. Instead I settled with just allowing the familiarity of the noise and warmth to fill my heart and my mind. At least I will leave this world with such wonderful thoughts and sensations coursing through me.

And then, the warmth faded and all that is left is the cold.

But I feel oddly at peace and I let my mind travel even further into the darkness that consumed me. I was just so tired and felt no need to prolong my existence any longer.

As I left this world, I felt as if I was leaving this world without any regrets. But that was wrong. For there was only one regret. Only one.

I only wish I knew how you truly felt about me… my Zabuza-danna.

Maybe in the afterlife, if such a place even exists, I could ask you. When you soul and mine are reunited once again.

For I would willingly wait for you Zabuza-danna. As I did years and years ago. Amongst the falling snow.

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**Awww! So cute :huggles story:. XD ha! I hope you enjoy it! Even though it's not very original. The cutest of the story should make up for that, right? :silence: **_**RIGHT**_**?! :freak out:**


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